Wolfenstein – once far-fetched, now scarily topical

The latest gameplay trailer for Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus hit the internet in late September and has since taken it by storm with its almost topical calling line to America: No More Nazis.

A sequel to The New Order, players have anticipated this game since its announcement in E3 2017 and the trailers have only further wettened the appetite for another Machine Games masterpiece. The game will see the return of protagonist William “B.J.” Blazkowicz and his allies as they try yet again to resist the Nazi takeover of America. Post-apocalyptic technology, like that seen in game series Fallout, boasts the utter impossibility of their task as we are reminded yet again in this WW2-based series what could have been should the Nazis have won the war. Meanwhile, the wit, swearing, violence and sex in the trailer remind us of why they didn’t. As players and as people, we’re rooting for the protagonists all the way as they hilariously and violently crush the Nazis’ plans. The game represents an utter rejection of everything they represent and allows us to protest it while having a bit of fun as well.

This trailer has sparked interest due to its unyielding focus on Nazis in America. The trailer opens with the flag of America in tatters compared to that of the Nazi flag, with “B.J.” telling his friends that they need to “put the fightin’ spirit back” in America. No doubt this has drawn comparisons to the recent events under Trump’s America in which a growing division is being created through threats of racism and fascism. Shots of the Nazi flag will no doubt remind people of the counter protests in Charlottesville where fellow Americans were emulating the Nazis in raising the Nazi flag and performing the salute.

This is something the creator, Matthies, has touched upon, claiming it’s “strangely topical” and how this isn’t something they “feel very good about”. The game itself is intended to be as over the top as something you would see in a Tarantino movie (Inglourious Basterds even?) so to have people turn and relate it to reality must be unsettling. Yet, it only seems to add to the trailer as we’re banded together even more once again to fight.

Wolfenstein 2 is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC on the 27th of October. It will also be available to play on Nintendo Switch in the near future of 2018.